Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) determined no officer had committed an offence in relation to the death of a 20-year-old man during a break-and-enter call on Feb. 12, 2017.File Photo / Postmedia

The province’s cop watchdog is investigating a city police pursuit that netted an arrest but not before a 25-year-old pedestrian was seriously injured by a driver in the fleeing car.

Officers near 101 Street and 108 Avenue around 12:30 a.m. Monday spotted a Buick Rendezvous bearing a stolen licence plate, said police in a Friday release.

The driver then stopped and got out of the car before the officers approached him in their marked cruiser with its emergency lights activated. When officers went to speak to him, the driver jumped back behind the wheel and fled, says the release.

With officers in pursuit, the driver of the Buick blew through a red light westbound on 107 Avenue at 101 Street before the car went off the road — striking a lamppost and knocking it off at the base — and struck the female pedestrian.

Patrol officers immediately moved in, making deliberate vehicle contact with the Buick at 103 Street to end the criminal flight but the driver continued to flee on foot.

A man was quickly arrested.

The woman hit by the Buick was treated on scene by paramedics before being transported to hospital with multiple serious injuries, said police.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the circumstances around the conduct of police during the criminal flight response.

Tyler James Bjornstad, 31, is charged with flight from peace officer causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, fail to stop at an accident causing bodily harm, disqualified driving, possession of stolen property under $5,000, and two counts of breach of recognizance.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.